Animation Guild | We are 839 Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1538315
FALL 2025 35 Meanwhile, in Ralph Breaks the Internet's Slaughter Race—which contains a car chase—the design team crafted a gritty, urban environment filled with destruction and detritus to avoid on the road. The danger and suspense come directly from the obstacles and the lengths the characters go to avoid them. The cars are designed not for visual gags but to up the stakes of what maneuvers the characters can and can't pull off. For tension between sweet Vanellope and tough-as-nails Shank, Vanellope's car is a mid-engine and Shank's is a front-engine. This means their cars bear weight differently and thus are limited to certain stunts. The film's Head of Cinematography and Layout, Nathan Warner, knew that tension in Slaughter Race would come from realism—the closer to life the driving looked, the more real the danger would feel. Stunt driver Jeremy Fry was brought onto the project, and cars' movements were inspired by his actual driving. The animators even went to a racetrack and learned how to drift so they'd know exactly how the characters would move their hands when they rounded a tight corner. Having also FALL 2025 35 Strategic camera angles added a sense of real-life danger in the Slaughter Race sequence in Ralph Breaks the Internet. THE CARS ARE DESIGNED NOT FOR VISUAL GAGS BUT TO UP THE STAKES OF WHAT MANEUVERS THE CHARACTERS CAN AND CAN'T PULL OFF. Wreck-It Ralph and Ralph Breaks the Internet images courtesy of Disney.